EMAIL DETAILS

Office of Vice President Biden Intelligence Briefing


*From:* Bulletin Intelligence <Biden@BulletinIntelligence.com>
*Sent:* Thursday, May 17, 2018 7:54 AM
*To:* Biden@BulletinIntelligence.com
*Subject:* Office of Vice President Biden Intelligence Briefing for
Thursday, May 17, 2018


*Click to access
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051701biden&r=email-cc92&l=000-2c4&t=c>
mobile-optimized online version, including download options and an audio
reader.*


[image: Image removed by sender. Office of Vice President Biden
Intelligence Briefing]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051701biden&r=email-cc92&l=001-fa5&t=c>

*To: Vice President Joe Biden*

*Thursday, May 17, 2018 8:00 AM EDT*
Today's Table of Contents

*Leading the News <#SECTION_1>*

• Trump: North Korean Denuclearization Remains Prerequisite For Any Deal.
<#S1>

*Foreign Policy <#SECTION_2>*

• Trump Meets With Uzbek President. <#S2>

• SIGAR Blames Military For Erroneous Troop Numbers. <#S3>

• Sisi: US Embassy Move To Jerusalem Causing Instability. <#S4>

• US Sanctions Top Hezbollah Leaders. <#S5>

• EU Leaders To Meet On Preserving Iran Deal. <#S6>

• Syria Retakes Control Of Area In Country’s Center. <#S7>

• WSJournal: Crown Prince Exemplifies Saudi Intermingling Of Commerce,
Government Ties. <#S8>

*Domestic Policy <#SECTION_3>*

• Senate Intelligence Committee Says Russia Meddled In 2016 Election On
Trump’s Behalf. <#S9>

• Trump Financial Disclosure Report Shows Reimbursement To Cohen. <#S10>

• Senate Panel Approves Haspel Nomination In 10-5 Vote. <#S11>

• Trump Calls Some Undocumented Immigrants “Animals.” <#S12>

• Senate Votes To Reverse FCC On Net Neutrality. <#S13>

• Environmental Groups Sue EPA Over Dropping Obama Mining Proposal. <#S14>

• North Carolina Teachers Leave Work To Rally At State Capital. <#S15>

*Cancer Research <#SECTION_4>*

• Study: Six-Month Herceptin Breast Cancer Treatment As Effective As One
Year. <#S16>

• Boston Globe Examines Possible Human Applications Of Dog Cancer
Immunotherapy. <#S17>

*Editorials/Op-Eds <#SECTION_5>*

• New York Times. <#S18>

• Washington Post. <#S19>

*Biden in the News <#SECTION_6>*

• Zogby 2020 Poll: Biden Leads Field Of Potential Democratic Presidential
Hopefuls. <#S20>

• Biden Endorses Harbaugh’s Bid To Unseat Gibbs In OH7. <#S21>

• Biden-Backed Tai Wins Pennsylvania State House Special Election. <#S22>
Leading the News
Trump: North Korean Denuclearization Remains Prerequisite For Any Deal.

Responding to threats by North Korea that it will withdraw from a summit
with the US next month if it insists on “unilateral nuclear abandonment,”
President Trump vowed on Wednesday that he will continue to insist on
denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. Media reports cast Trump as
undeterred by the North Korean threats. The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051701biden&r=email-cc92&l=002-25e&t=c>
(5/16, Landler, Choe, Perlez), for example, says the White House “brushed
aside threats by North Korea,” to the Los Angeles Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051701biden&r=email-cc92&l=003-c86&t=c>
(5/16, Bierman) Trump “remained publicly sanguine,” and on ABC World News
Tonight[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051701biden&r=email-cc92&l=004-054&t=c>
(5/16, story 2, 2:45, Muir), Jonathan Karl said, “If President Trump is
rattled by the latest threats from North Korea, he’s not showing it.”
Trump: “We’ll see what happens. We’ll see. Time will tell.” Earlier at the
White House, Press Secretary Sarah Sanders “said the latest move by North
Korea came as no surprise.” Sanders: “This is something that we fully
expected.” Nevertheless, ABC said the “change in tone is dramatic.”

NBC Nightly News[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051701biden&r=email-cc92&l=005-05c&t=c>
(5/16, story 3, 2:30, Holt) reported that while “North Korea is balking
over demands over the nuclear weapons program,” Trump is “standing by his
demand that a deal include North Korea get rid of the nuclear
weapons.” The Washington
Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051701biden&r=email-cc92&l=006-348&t=c>
(5/16, Johnson) reports Trump said he “will continue to insist on
denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula,” and added that North Korea “has
not directly told the White House that it wants to change or cancel the
summit.” Said Trump, “We haven’t seen anything. We haven’t heard anything.
We will see what happens. Whatever it is, it is.” When asked whether he
thinks North Korean leader Kim Jong-un “is bluffing,” Trump repeated,
“We’ll see what happens.” The Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051701biden&r=email-cc92&l=007-84d&t=c>
(5/16, Boyer) and CQ Roll Call
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051701biden&r=email-cc92&l=008-009&t=c>
(5/16, Bennett) also report his comments, while Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051701biden&r=email-cc92&l=009-59f&t=c>
(5/16) says Trump’s “relatively muted response was in marked contrast to
just a few days ago when he exulted over North Korea’s release of three
Americans, welcoming them home with praise for Kim and an expression of
high hopes that the summit would produce ‘something very meaningful.’”
Trump’s aides, meanwhile, “were working on Wednesday to determine whether
it was a negotiating ploy by Pyongyang or an attempt to scuttle the
summit.”

Bloomberg News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051701biden&r=email-cc92&l=00a-6c7&t=c>
(5/16, Kong, Sharp, Epstein) reports the White House “said it was
proceeding with planning for the landmark meeting.” Sanders told Fox News’
Fox & Friends[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051701biden&r=email-cc92&l=00b-b36&t=c>
(5/16, 7:39 a.m. EDT) of Trump, “He’ll be there, and he’ll be ready. We’re
ready to meet, and if it happens that’s great, but if it doesn’t we’ll see
what happens. If it doesn’t we’ll continue the maximum pressure campaign
that has been ongoing.” The Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051701biden&r=email-cc92&l=00c-7a7&t=c>
(5/16, Gordon, Youssef, Cheng) similarly reports the White House reaction
in a story titled “US Brushes Off Pyongyang’s Tough Talk, Proceeds With
Planning for Summit.” According to the AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051701biden&r=email-cc92&l=00d-115&t=c>
(5/16, Miller, Lucey), the “direction from the Oval Office to White House
aides and other US national security agencies Wednesday was to downplay the
North Korean threats and not ‘take the bait’ by overreacting to the
provocation, said a senior US official.” NSA Bolton told Fox News Radio
Wednesday, “We are trying to be both optimistic and realistic at the same
time.” CNN
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051701biden&r=email-cc92&l=00e-db2&t=c>
(5/16, Liptak) reports on its website that Bolton also told Fox Radio “that
he spoke early Wednesday with his South Korean counterpart to tick through
the possible reasons for the warnings issued by Pyongyang.”

In what the Los Angeles Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051701biden&r=email-cc92&l=00f-50f&t=c>
(5/16, Lauter) calls “a further public show of lack of concern,” the State
Department released a statement on a telephone call Secretary of State
Pompeo had with the foreign minister of Singapore on Wednesday. In the
call, Pompeo thanked Singapore for its “willingness to host President
Trump’s meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on June 12,” the
statement said. According to Axios
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051701biden&r=email-cc92&l=010-016&t=c>
(5/16, Vavra), Pompeo also “spoke with South Korean Foreign Minister Kang
Kyung-wha last night, a State Department official” said.

USA Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051701biden&r=email-cc92&l=011-2fb&t=c>
(5/16, Jackson) reports North Korea’s statement earlier Wednesday
“singl[ed] out” Bolton for promoting what the North Koreans called “the
assertions of so-called Libya mode of nuclear abandonment” – Libyan leader
Muammar Gadhafi gave up his weapons of mass destruction and was later
deposed and killed. Sanders, however, said that is not Administration
policy: “This is the President Trump model. He’s going to run this the way
he sees fit.” John Roberts said on Fox News Special Report[image: Image
removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051701biden&r=email-cc92&l=012-9ee&t=c>
(5/16) that Sanders “walked...back” Bolton’s comments on Libya, “insisting
any denuclearization would come from the President, and that he has his own
ideas.” In a report titled “Bolton Emerges As Potential Wrecking Ball For
Trump’s Kim Summit,” Bloomberg News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051701biden&r=email-cc92&l=013-985&t=c>
(5/16, Olorunnipa) says Bolton’s “desire to turn North Korea into the next
Libya isn’t going over so well in Pyongyang,” and Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051701biden&r=email-cc92&l=014-839&t=c>
(5/16, Crowley, Johnson), in a report titled “Trump’s North Korea Nobel
Buzz Could Die With John Bolton,” says Bolton “is famously contemptuous of
what he considers naïve US diplomacy with foreign adversaries who can only
be trusted to cheat and lie. Prominent on his list is North Korea,” which
he has written “will never give up nuclear weapons voluntarily.”

A New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051701biden&r=email-cc92&l=015-a75&t=c>
(5/16, Mullany) analysis says Wednesday’s announcement that North Korea was
considering calling off Kim’s planned June summit with Trump “reflected a
pattern by the unpredictable regime: diplomatic outreach, followed by
erratic behavior and, in many cases, an outright rejection of peace
overtures.” The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051701biden&r=email-cc92&l=016-b7e&t=c>
(5/16, Nakamura), meanwhile, reports that “as North Korean officials
abruptly cast doubt this week on Trump’s planned historic summit with Kim
in Singapore next month, critics fear that a president determined to
declare victory where his predecessors failed will allow his desire for a
legacy-making deal to override the substance of the negotiations.”

Sen. Bob Menendez writes in a Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051701biden&r=email-cc92&l=017-78c&t=c>
(5/16) op-ed that the “improving relations between North and South Korea
present a historic opportunity for denuclearization and lasting peace. And
I applaud the return of American citizens held captive by North Korea. But
we must be clear-eyed about the challenges ahead. The president’s impulsive
and erratic approach to foreign policy has left our allies confused and our
adversaries emboldened. If he wants to take advantage of this critical
opportunity, he needs something that he has repeatedly been incapable of
providing: disciplined leadership and a real strategy.”

On its editorial page, the Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051701biden&r=email-cc92&l=018-f35&t=c>
(5/16) says North Korea’s threat “is surely a bluff, but all the same it
should serve as a wake-up call for the White House.” While Trump “already
has all but awarded himself the Nobel Peace Prize,” North Korea’s
“rhetorical tantrum was a reminder that the Kim regime will almost
certainly” not agree to complete denuclearization. Consequently, the Post
argues that the Administration “ought to be contemplating what sort of
partial or phased deal with North Korea it would accept.”

*Intelligence Officials Warn Threat To Cancel Summit Calculated To
Hide Nukes. *The Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051701biden&r=email-cc92&l=019-9f9&t=c>
(5/16, Taylor) reports North Korea’s threat this week to pull out of the
upcoming summit with Trump “was highly calculated, according to
intelligence officials who say Pyongyang wanted to harden its negotiating
position against a quick ‘Libya-style’ surrender of its nuclear
programs...and buy time to hide its nuclear weapons.” While US officials
“say they believe Pyongyang’s threat...was also driven” by Kim’s “need to
show his domestic audience he won’t ‘roll over’ to Mr. Trump, the
development raised fresh questions about the scope of Pyongyang’s nuclear
operations and Mr. Kim’s willingness to abandon them.”

*South Korea Offers To Mediate Amid Summit Doubts. *Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051701biden&r=email-cc92&l=01a-b15&t=c>
(5/17, Lee) reports that South Korea is “seeking to mediate to bridge the
gap” between the US and North Korea as they appear to have “some kind of
difference in stances” ahead of a planned summit, a South Korean official
said Thursday. The Blue House official said the South Korean government
intends to more actively perform “the role of a mediator” between South
Korea, the US and North Korea.
Foreign Policy
Trump Meets With Uzbek President.

The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051701biden&r=email-cc92&l=01b-981&t=c>
(5/16, Thomas) reports President Trump met with Uzbek President Shavkat
Mirziyoyev at the White House, where they “pledged a close partnership on
trade and military ties” and “conferred on the country’s strategic position
near Afghanistan.” Mirziyoyev hailed a “new era for strategic partnership”
between the two countries. While “White House officials said in advance of
the meeting that Trump would raise human rights conditions,” neither of the
leaders “addressed the subject during brief remarks to reporters.” The New
York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051701biden&r=email-cc92&l=01c-4a2&t=c>
(5/16, Davis) reports, “Trump has rarely brought up human rights concerns
either in public or in private during his face-to-face encounters with
foreign leaders – a break with past American presidents of both parties who
routinely raised the issue – even when his aides have said he planned to.”
Trump’s advisers see “the issue as an impediment to trade and a barrier to
warmer relations.” Additionally, Trump’s advisers “privately praised Mr.
Mirziyoyev for releasing some political prisoners, eliminating systematic
child labor and loosening controls on the press.”
SIGAR Blames Military For Erroneous Troop Numbers.

The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051701biden&r=email-cc92&l=01d-b7c&t=c>
(5/16, Constable) reports, “In a rare public airing of recurring
differences between U.S. military officials and” the Special Inspector
General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR), the latter said that its
previous report that there had been a less severe drop in the number of
Afghan soldiers and police over the past year than the 11% it previously
stated, “blaming ‘erroneous’ information provided by U.S. military
officials in Afghanistan.” SIGAR officials said “in a sharply worded news
release” that the issue was “the latest in a series of problems” in
responses to its information requests about Afghan forces to the Department
of Defense. Lt. Col. Martin O’Donnell, the chief press official for the
US-led NATO mission in Afghanistan, said, “We sent the data, and it was our
bad.”

*Taliban Abandon Bid To Take Farah. *The Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051701biden&r=email-cc92&l=01e-ffb&t=c>
(5/16, Nelson, Totakhil, Amiri) reports the Taliban abandoned its attempt
to take over the city of Farah, a provincial capital. Their forces left
during the night; government forces left the roads out of the city open to
prevent additional bloodshed. Provincial Gov. Abdul Basir Salangi said the
Taliban had more than 300 fighters killed or wounded, while government
soldiers and police had only 10 killed and another 10 wounded. The New York
Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051701biden&r=email-cc92&l=01f-b11&t=c>
(5/16, Abed, Shah) reports, “For many Afghans, especially residents in
battered Farah, the assault showed mostly that the insurgents could attack
at will even against a well-entrenched government position backed up by
both Afghan and American air power.”

*Senate Committee Working On New Authorization For Use of Military
Force. *The Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051701biden&r=email-cc92&l=020-fb1&t=c>
(5/16, Wolfgang) reports the Senate Foreign Relations Committee “struggled
to define – and possibly limit – President Trump’s legal authority to wage
war.” Despite the widespread agreement “that a new Authorization for Use of
Military Force is necessary,” there is disagreement on what it should look
like, and “some Democrats raised the notion that the White House could
twist the Senate’s broad bill into a green light for attacks against Iran,
though Trump officials dismissed the idea as ludicrous.” Similarly,
Chairman Bob Corker “dismissed that argument as a ‘red herring’ perpetrated
by liberal groups trying to undermine his panel’s work.”
Sisi: US Embassy Move To Jerusalem Causing Instability.

Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051701biden&r=email-cc92&l=021-0c5&t=c>
(5/16) reports Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said Wednesday the
relocation of the US Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem will cause “some
instability” in the region. During televised remarks to a youth conference,
Sisi said, “On the move of the US Embassy, we have said this issue will
have negative repercussions on Arab and Islamic public opinion and lead to
a kind of dissatisfaction and some instability, and will have repercussions
on the Palestinian cause.” He added, “I urge the Israelis to understand
that the reactions of Palestinians over this issue are legitimate and that
(they) are dealt with in a way that takes great care for the lives of
Palestinians.”

*Guatemala Opens Its Embassy In Jerusalem. *The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051701biden&r=email-cc92&l=022-b15&t=c>
(5/16, Eglash) reports Israel on Wednesday “welcomed another embassy in
Jerusalem just two days after the landmark move by the United States.” The
ribbon cutting by Guatemalan President Jimmy Morales “marked the first
nation to join the United States in making the move to Jerusalem and
formally recognizing the contested city as Israel’s capital.” Although the
Guatemalan ceremony was “more low-key” than the US,’ the move “brought with
it another layer of tension amid diplomatic confrontations with a growing
list of countries.”

*Israel’s Use Of Lethal Force In Gaza Under Scrutiny. *The Washington
Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051701biden&r=email-cc92&l=023-d16&t=c>
(5/16, A1, Morris, Eglash) reports on its front page that in the wake of
Monday’s deadly protests in Gaza, the Israeli military’s use of lethal
force is under scrutiny. Military officials say sharpshooters “have been
permitted to use lethal force against those ‘endangering’ the barrier,” but
decline “to go into further detail about its rules of engagement, saying
they are classified.” Human rights groups, however, “say the few details
provided by the Israeli military make clear that the orders given to
soldiers are illegal.” They also accuse the Israeli military “of not making
enough effort to use other means of dispersing crowds.”

Max Boot writes in his Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051701biden&r=email-cc92&l=024-5c0&t=c>
(5/16) column, “I am no fan of President Trump and I am ready to blame him
for a lot of things – but not for the terrible bloodshed in the Gaza Strip
on Monday. Yes, the confrontation between Palestinians and Israeli security
forces occurred at the same time as the unveiling of the new US Embassy in
Jerusalem. And, yes, the embassy’s relocation could have been handled more
smoothly and diplomatically.” Ultimately, Boot says, Hamas is to blame. If
Hamas “wants to ease the suffering of its people, it needs to do what the
Palestinian Authority has already done: Accept the existence of Israel.”

New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051701biden&r=email-cc92&l=025-89b&t=c>
(5/16) columnist Bret Stephens asks, “Why is nothing expected of
Palestinians, and everything forgiven, while everything is expected of
Israelis, and nothing forgiven? That’s a question to which one can easily
guess the answer. In the meantime, it’s worth considering the harm Western
indulgence has done to Palestinian aspirations.”

*Palestinian Official: Haley Not World’s “Schoolmarm.” *Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051701biden&r=email-cc92&l=026-445&t=c>
(5/16) reports senior Palestinian official Hanan Ashrawi on Wednesday
criticized UN Ambassador Haley “and her pledge to ‘take names’ of countries
that do not back Washington,” saying she had not been appointed “the
schoolmarm of the world.” Ashrawi told reporters at the UN, “She threatened
and she pressured and she used coercion and so on at the UN, particularly
by taking down names. I don’t think people appointed her the schoolmarm of
the world.” The US Mission did not immediately respond.
US Sanctions Top Hezbollah Leaders.

Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051701biden&r=email-cc92&l=027-ab5&t=c>
(5/16) reports, “The United States and Gulf partners imposed additional
sanctions on Lebanon’s Hezbollah leadership on Wednesday.” The sanctions
target the group’s “top two officials, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah and Naim
Qassem,” as well as four other individuals. Treasury Secretary Mnuchin
said, “By targeting Hezbollah’s Shura Council, our nations collectively
rejected the false distinction between a so-called ‘Political Wing’ and
Hezbollah’s global terrorist plotting.” The State Department said Secretary
of State Pompeo discussed with his Qatari counterpart, Sheikh Mohammed bin
Abdulrahman Ali Thani, Qatar’s efforts to counter terrorism financing.
Bloomberg
News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051701biden&r=email-cc92&l=028-44c&t=c>
(5/16, Mohsin) reports, “Treasury said that Wednesday’s sanctions are a
continuation of its policy to exit from the Iran nuclear deal as it aims to
address Iran’s ‘malign activities and regionally destabilizing behavior,
including that of Hezbollah.’”

*Gulf States Put Hezbollah Leaders On Terrorism Lists. *Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051701biden&r=email-cc92&l=029-f93&t=c>
(5/16) reports the Gulf Cooperation Council placed 10 Hezbollah leaders “on
their terrorism lists on Wednesday, including Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah and
his deputy Naim Qassem, Saudi state news agency SPA said.”
EU Leaders To Meet On Preserving Iran Deal.

Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051701biden&r=email-cc92&l=02a-cf9&t=c>
(5/16) reports that during a Wednesday meeting, the 28 EU leaders will
examine options to keep the Iranian nuclear deal going and shield “their
reviving economic cooperation” with Iran. However, the leaders aren’t
likely “to make any quick decisions during” the meeting, “highlighting how
U.S. clout in international trade and finance limits the Europeans’ scope
for action.” The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051701biden&r=email-cc92&l=02b-fdc&t=c>
(5/16) reports, “European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker says
that all efforts must be made to keep the Iran nuclear agreement alive.” He
warned that “to end the deal would gravely threaten the peace and security
in this tumultuous region.”

*European Council President: With Friends Like US, “Who Needs
Enemies?” *The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051701biden&r=email-cc92&l=02c-ac5&t=c>
(5/16, Birnbaum) reports that in “unusually cutting” criticism, European
Council President Donald Tusk said, “Looking at the latest decisions of
Donald Trump, someone could even think: With friends like that, who needs
enemies?” He also “suggested the White House had lost touch with reality”
and he “exhorted European leaders not to be reliant on Washington.” The
Post adds, “Europeans are increasingly exasperated by the way Trump is
steering U.S. policy,” not only in the positions taken, but also what is
seen as “the erratic policymaking that switches on the whim of Fox News
programmers.” Diplomats say the changing stances “make it nearly impossible
to negotiate with the White House,” as they can’t give Trump what he “wants
when he doesn’t know it himself.”

The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051701biden&r=email-cc92&l=02d-638&t=c>
(5/16, Specia) reports Tusk’s statement echoes those of other European
leaders, but “was one of the more notable, public denunciations of Mr.
Trump’s decision making by a European leader.” The Times adds that “a
series of moves on trade, Israel and other issues has increasingly put
traditional allies at odds with the administration in Washington.”

*Under Threat Of US Sanctions, European Firms Pulling Out Of Iran. *The
Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051701biden&r=email-cc92&l=02e-f72&t=c>
(5/16, Faucon) reports that in response to the US decision to reimpose
sanctions on Iran, European firms are pulling back investment and
abandoning commitments there. While European states don’t plan to enact new
sanctions, companies with US businesses or bank accounts would be affected
by the US’s actions. Energy company Total SA said it stopped work on an
Iranian natural-gas project and may drop a planned $1 billion in investment
in Iran, although it plans to seek a waiver from the US. Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051701biden&r=email-cc92&l=02f-d9f&t=c>
(5/16) reports Total’s pullout “would be a blow to President Hassan
Rouhani, who had hoped the prestigious project could make other
international businesses regain confidence in Iran and open the floodgates
for foreign investment.”

*Turkish Banker Sentenced For Scheme To Violate Iran Sanctions. *The
New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051701biden&r=email-cc92&l=030-c38&t=c>
(5/16, Weiser) reports Turkish banker Mehmet Hakan Atilla was sentenced in
a federal court to 32 months in prison for his part in a billion-dollar
conspiracy to violate United States sanctions on Iran. His trial “depicted
high-level corruption in Turkey, riveted the Turkish public and strained
that country’s relations with the United States.” Turkish President Recep
Tayyip Erdoğan “denounced the case,” and he has “continued to defend Mr.
Atilla.” Turkish official “claim the evidence was fabricated by followers
of” Islamic cleric Fethullah Gulen, who they also say was behind a failed
coup in 2016.
Syria Retakes Control Of Area In Country’s Center.

The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051701biden&r=email-cc92&l=031-1b9&t=c>
(5/16, El Deeb) reports, “Syria’s military said Wednesday it has restored
government control over a large area in central Syria,” securing “roads
between the country’s three main cities – Damascus, Aleppo and Homs – for
the first time since the civil war began in 2011.” The more than 30,000
that “left northern Homs and southern Hama in the last few days” added to
“what has been described as one of the largest population shifts in Syria
since the conflict began.” The Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051701biden&r=email-cc92&l=032-c78&t=c>
(5/16, Abdulrahim) casts the victory as part of a Russia- and Iran-backed
campaign against the rebels.
WSJournal: Crown Prince Exemplifies Saudi Intermingling Of Commerce,
Government Ties.

In a front-page analysis, the Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051701biden&r=email-cc92&l=033-947&t=c>
(5/16, Scheck) reports that how Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman
amassed his fortune illustrates how his country intermingles commercial
ventures and Saudi government connections, in spite of his crackdown on
corruption and other royals he says abused their power to get rich. The
Journal details the dealmaking that helped Prince Mohammed gain his wealth.
Domestic Policy
Senate Intelligence Committee Says Russia Meddled In 2016 Election On
Trump’s Behalf.

The CBS Evening News[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051701biden&r=email-cc92&l=034-498&t=c>
(5/16, story 4, 2:10, Glor) reported, “The Senate Intelligence Committee –
eight Republicans and seven Democrats – concluded today that Russia meddled
in the 2016 election, partly with the goal of electing Donald Trump. The
bipartisan report is at odds with the findings of House Republicans.” The New
York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051701biden&r=email-cc92&l=035-b70&t=c>
(5/16, Rosenberg) reports that Senate Intelligence Chairman Richard Burr
“backed...the assessment by American intelligence agencies that Moscow
favored” Trump, “contradicting both the president and fellow Republicans in
the House.” The Times calls his statement “a clear rebuke to Mr. Trump’s
most ardent supporters in the Republican Party and in the right-wing news
media.”

The Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051701biden&r=email-cc92&l=036-d5d&t=c>
(5/16, Tau) reports Burr said in a statement, “The first task in our
inquiry was to evaluate the Intelligence Community’s work on this important
piece of analysis. Committee staff have spent 14 months reviewing the
sources, tradecraft, and analytic work, and we see no reason to dispute the
conclusions.” The Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051701biden&r=email-cc92&l=037-84e&t=c>
(5/16, Boylan) reports that Senate Intelligence Vice Chairman Mark Warner
said, “The Russian effort was extensive, sophisticated, and ordered by
President Putin himself for the purpose of helping Donald Trump and hurting
Hillary Clinton.”

The Washington Examiner
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051701biden&r=email-cc92&l=038-426&t=c>
(5/16, Ferrechio) reports Rep. Mike Conaway (R), who headed the House
probe, “said he stands by a House report that found no evidence that Russia
worked with the Trump campaign to help him win.” Conaway said of the Senate
report, “It comports with about 90% of what we did as well. We spent
thousands of hours going through the documents at the CIA and we came to a
different conclusion. On just a narrow piece of it.” But House Intelligence
Committee ranking member Rep. Adam Schiff (D) tweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051701biden&r=email-cc92&l=039-ad0&t=c>,
“The Senate Judiciary Committee just released the transcripts of interviews
about the Trump Tower meeting. We tried to release ALL our transcripts but
were blocked repeatedly by Republicans. The public deserves to see them and
judge for themselves. Release the transcripts.”

*In Tweet Today, Trump Rails Against “Greatest Witch Hunt In
American History.” *Trump tweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051701biden&r=email-cc92&l=03a-d50&t=c>
this morning, “Congratulations America, we are now into the second year of
the greatest Witch Hunt in American History...and there is still No
Collusion and No Obstruction. The only Collusion was that done by Democrats
who were unable to win an Election despite the spending of far more money!”

*Senate Judiciary Committee Releases Documents On Trump Tower
Meeting. *Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051701biden&r=email-cc92&l=03b-65a&t=c>
(5/16) reports that the Senate Judiciary Committee has “released hundreds
of pages of transcripts and other details” from its investigation of the
June 2016 Trump Tower meeting “with Russians who claimed to have damaging
information about Hillary Clinton.” Among the documents released
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051701biden&r=email-cc92&l=03c-545&t=c>
were interviews with Donald Trump Jr., music publicist Rob Goldstone,
Fusion GPS co-founder Glenn Simpson, “Russian-American lobbyist Rinat
Akhmetshin, and Moscow-based developer Ike Kaveladze,” as well as “written
responses to questions from the committee from Natalia Veselnitskaya, a
Russian lawyer who attended the meeting, and Anatoli Samochornov, her
translator.”

The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051701biden&r=email-cc92&l=03d-9c6&t=c>
(5/16, Lafraniere, Fandos) reports that Goldstone, who arranged the meeting
“between Trump campaign officials and a self-described Kremlin informant,”
told the committee that he proposed a second meeting between Veselnitskaya
“and members of Mr. Trump’s team in November 2016.” The Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051701biden&r=email-cc92&l=03e-3ab&t=c>
(5/16, Ballhaus, Tau, Orden) reports that the documents show that Goldstone
repeatedly contacted Trump campaign and Trump Organization officials, at
one point offering to arrange a meeting between Donald Trump and Russian
President Vladimir Putin. The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051701biden&r=email-cc92&l=03f-48b&t=c>
(5/16, Rucker) reports that Goldstone said that “negotiations for a
face-to-face meeting...’went down to the wire,’” but that Trump and Putin
“did not end up meeting because, according to Goldstone, Putin was too busy
receiving the new king of Holland.”

The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051701biden&r=email-cc92&l=040-5a3&t=c>
(5/16, Jalonick, Tucker, Day) reports that in his testimony in September
2017, Trump Jr. “struck an unapologetic tone,” saying that “he didn’t think
there was anything wrong” with meeting Veselnitskaya “or that the
get-together might have been part of a Russian government effort to aid his
father.” The Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051701biden&r=email-cc92&l=041-bb4&t=c>
(5/16, Dinan) reports that he also said that “he never told his
father...about the meeting” because of its “lack of substance.” He told the
committee, “I wouldn’t have wasted his time with it.” ABC World News
Tonight[image:
Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051701biden&r=email-cc92&l=042-b83&t=c>
(5/16, story 8, 0:30, Muir) reported that Trump Jr. “admitt[ed] he took the
meeting to get dirt on Hillary Clinton, insisting he didn’t tell his father
the meeting was taking place.” Bloomberg News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051701biden&r=email-cc92&l=043-6e2&t=c>
(5/16, Dennis, House) reports that Trump Jr. also testified, “I did not
collude with any foreign government and do not know of anyone who did.”

*Giuliani: Mueller’s Team Has Concluded It Cannot Indict Trump. *CNN
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051701biden&r=email-cc92&l=044-5fe&t=c>
(5/16, Bash) reports on its website that President Trump’s attorney Rudy
Giuliani told the network that Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s team has
informed Trump’s attorneys “that they have concluded that they cannot
indict a sitting president.” On the CBS Evening News[image: Image removed
by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051701biden&r=email-cc92&l=045-09c&t=c>
(5/16, story 3, 0:30, Glor), Paula Reid reported that Giuliani told her the
same thing: “There is currently an opinion at the Justice Department that
says you cannot criminally indict a sitting president. And Giuliani says
that Mueller has told him that he will abide by that opinion.” The New York
Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051701biden&r=email-cc92&l=046-f4d&t=c>
(5/16, Schmidt, Haberman, Savage) reports that Giuliani said, “When I met
with Mueller’s team, they seemed to be in a little bit of confusion about
whether they could indict. We said, ‘It’s pretty clear that you have to
follow DOJ policy.’” The Hill
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051701biden&r=email-cc92&l=047-77a&t=c>
(5/16, Manchester) reports that in an appearance on Fox News on Wednesday
evening, Giuliani said that if Mueller “subpoenas Trump, their team will
challenge it.” Giuliani told Laura Ingraham, “We’re going to see what legal
remedies are available to us, including if they subpoena us, challenge the
subpoena.”

Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051701biden&r=email-cc92&l=048-eb5&t=c>
(5/16, Samuelsohn) reports, “Frustrated by the open-ended nature of
Mueller’s Russia probe, which hits its one-year mark on Thursday,” Giuliani
“says Mueller should follow the example Comey set in 2016, when the
then-FBI director investigated – and then publicly exonerated – Hillary
Clinton for her use of a private email server.” Giuliani said, “When Comey
closed [the case] in July – although I think it was a complete whitewash –
I’d like to have them do that for us.” Giuliani said on Fox News’ Ingraham
Angle[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051701biden&r=email-cc92&l=049-f38&t=c>
(5/16), “Mueller should now bring this to a close. It’s been a year. He’s
gotten 1.4 million documents. He’s interviewed 28 witnesses and he has
nothing, which is why he wants to bring the President into an interview. We
are demanding from him: Tell us what you have to get from an interview that
you don’t already have? Because he has all of the facts to make a
decision.”

*Mueller Subpoenas Stone’s Social Media Adviser. *Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051701biden&r=email-cc92&l=04a-539&t=c>
(5/16) reports that Mueller has issued two subpoenas to Jason Sullivan, “a
social media expert who worked for longtime Donald Trump adviser Roger
Stone” during the 2016 campaign. The subpoenas “suggest that Mueller...is
focusing in part on Stone and whether he might have had advance knowledge
of material allegedly hacked by Russian intelligence and sent to WikiLeaks
founder Julian Assange, who published it.”

*Mueller’s Team Clashes With Concord Management Over Evidence.
*The Washington
Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051701biden&r=email-cc92&l=04b-8a5&t=c>
(5/16, Hsu) reports that members of Mueller’s team “and attorneys for an
indicted Russian firm run charged with funding an operation to interfere”
with the 2016 presidential election “clashed Wednesday over the
government’s plan to turn over massive volumes of electronic
evidence.” Bloomberg
News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051701biden&r=email-cc92&l=04c-d7b&t=c>
(5/16, Harris) reports that Eric Dubelier, attorney for Concord Management
and Consulting, “accused the Mueller squad led by prosecutor Jeannie Rhee
of failing to turn over evidence demanded five weeks ago, and for planning
to deliver in electronic form about two terabytes of social media-related
data without first translating it from Russian.” But Rhee “rejected defense
assertions that she and her co-counsel were engaging in a ‘data dump,’
saying the information was responsive to defense requests for evidence.”

*FBI Sent Agents To Meet With Australian Ambassador About
Papadopoulos Meeting. *In a 3,700-word feature, the New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051701biden&r=email-cc92&l=04d-ba1&t=c>
(5/16, Apuzzo, Goldman, Fandos) looks “inside the early days of the FBI’s
Trump investigation,” reporting that “within hours of opening an
investigation into the Trump campaign’s ties to Russia in the summer of
2016,” the FBI sent two agents to London to meet with “the Australian
ambassador, who had evidence” that Trump adviser George Papadopoulos “knew
in advance about Russian election meddling.” Australian officials “broke
with diplomatic protocol” and allowed the ambassador to meet the agents.

*House Freedom Caucus Members Want Trump To Release Documents On
Possible FISA Abuses. *The Daily Caller
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051701biden&r=email-cc92&l=04e-cc6&t=c>
(5/16, Donachie) reports that three members of the House Freedom Caucus are
calling on Trump “to order the Department of Justice to release all
relevant documents regarding potential Foreign Intelligence Surveillance
Act abuses, the impetus for the investigation into the Trump campaign and
documents that lay out the scope of the special counsel’s probe.” In a
letter to Trump, they ask him “to use his authority to “instruct Attorney
General Jeff Sessions to immediately produce all documents” related to
House Republicans’ investigation into ‘prosecutorial and investigatorial
decisions’ made the DOJ and FBI made in 2016 and 2017.”

*Ex-Cambridge Analytica Employee Says Russia May Have Stolen
Facebook User Data. *USA Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051701biden&r=email-cc92&l=04f-8fc&t=c>
(5/16, Kelly) reports former Cambridge Analytica employee, testifying
before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday, in response to a
question by Sen. Dianne Feinstein, said, “I can’t say definitively, one way
or the other, if these data sets did end up in Russia but what I can say is
that it would have been very easy to facilitate that.” He also said that
Cambridge University psychology professor Aleksandr Kogan, “who developed
an application that harvested the Facebook data...was frequently in Moscow
and St. Petersburg.” He also suggested that data on Kogan’s computer might
easily have been stolen while he was in Russia.

*Wylie Said Bannon Tried To Promote “Culture War.” *Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051701biden&r=email-cc92&l=050-a85&t=c>
(5/16, Hosenball) reports Wylie also told senators that Steve Bannon,
onetime vice president at Cambridge Analytica, “sought to use personal
information collected online to promote ‘a culture war.’” Wylie said that
Bannon “saw cultural warfare as a means to create enduring change in
American politics.” Axios
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051701biden&r=email-cc92&l=051-d75&t=c>
(5/16, Atkinson) reports Wylie told senators that Bannon planned to
“discourage or demobilize certain types of people from voting” and that the
firm had “used methods to discourage voting among targeted populations.”

*DOJ Report On Handling Of Clinton Email Probe Expected To Be
Released Soon. *The Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051701biden&r=email-cc92&l=052-d47&t=c>
(5/16, Viswanatha, Gurman) reports that the Justice Department report on
its handling of the investigation into Hillary Clinton’s email server is
apparently to be released soon. Multiple interested parties have been told
that they can privately review the report by the end of this week. Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051701biden&r=email-cc92&l=053-2e8&t=c>
(5/16, Gerstein) also reports on the upcoming release.
Trump Financial Disclosure Report Shows Reimbursement To Cohen.

All three broadcast networks reported on the news that President Trump’s
2017 financial disclosure report
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051701biden&r=email-cc92&l=054-f03&t=c>
shows that Trump reimbursed personal attorney Michael Cohen. ABC World News
Tonight[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051701biden&r=email-cc92&l=055-6b4&t=c>
(5/16, lead story, 2:50, Muir), which led with the story, reported that
Trump “reimbursed Cohen for up to $250,000 – the exact amount was not
clear.” ABC’s Kyra Phillips: “Just last month, President Trump claimed he
knew nothing about his lawyer Michael Cohen’s hush payment to Stormy
Daniels. But today, the President officially acknowledged paying back Cohen
himself last year. It’s buried in a footnote on page 45 of his mandatory
personal financial disclosure report.”

On the CBS Evening News[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051701biden&r=email-cc92&l=056-679&t=c>
(5/16, story 2, 1:55), Jeff Glor said, “Read between the lines, and you’ll
find him reimbursing” Cohen to pay Daniels. CBS’ Paula Reid: “On the same
page as the President’s bold signature is a reference to the previously
undisclosed payment to Mr. Cohen. It’s the first time President Trump has
formally admitted reimbursing his personal attorney...for the $130,000 he
paid” Daniels. On NBC Nightly News[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051701biden&r=email-cc92&l=057-441&t=c>
(5/16, story 2, 2:10, Holt), Hallie Jackson reported that Trump is “now
appearing to acknowledge a payoff to a porn star for the first time.” The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051701biden&r=email-cc92&l=058-366&t=c>
(5/16, Condon, Abdollah) reports that Trump “made no mention” in the
disclosure report “of a $130,000 payment” to Daniels, “but said in a
footnote that he ‘fully reimbursed’ his personal attorney for as much
$250,000 for unspecified ‘expenses.’”

The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051701biden&r=email-cc92&l=059-2c7&t=c>
(5/16, Eder, Lipton, Protess) reports that a letter accompanying the report
sent to Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein by Office of Government
Ethics Acting Director David Apol said that the OGE “had determined ‘the
payment made by Mr. Cohen is required to be reported as a liability.’”
Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani said on Fox News’ Ingraham Angle[image: Image
removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051701biden&r=email-cc92&l=05a-8ef&t=c>
(5/16), “I think the OGE...basically agreed with us it had been fully
disclosed. ... I don’t believe it had to be disclosed at all.”

Daniels attorney Michael Avenatti said on CNN’s Anderson
Cooper 360[image:
Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051701biden&r=email-cc92&l=05b-aee&t=c>
(5/16), “What the President signed today states that the reimbursements
were made during the year 2017. Are they suggesting that the President
reimbursed this money but didn’t know about it? I don’t understand. How
does somebody reimburse a payment and not know about it?”

The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051701biden&r=email-cc92&l=05c-b49&t=c>
(5/16, Fahrenthold, O'Connell) reports, “Earlier this year, Trump told
reporters on Air Force One that he had not known about Cohen’s payment to
Daniels,” and after the payment to Daniels was first revealed, “Cohen
acknowledged making the payment himself.” The Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051701biden&r=email-cc92&l=05d-de9&t=c>
(5/16, Bykowicz) runs a brief item under the headline “Trump Discloses
Reimbursement To Michael Cohen Tied To Stormy Daniels Payment.” Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051701biden&r=email-cc92&l=05e-56f&t=c>
(5/16), Bloomberg News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051701biden&r=email-cc92&l=05f-a84&t=c>
(5/16, Olorunnipa, Melby), and Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051701biden&r=email-cc92&l=060-be8&t=c>
(5/16, Nelson), among other outlets, also have straightforward reports.

*Suspicious-Activity Reports On Cohen Accounts Missing From Federal
Database. *Ronan Farrow writes in the New Yorker
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051701biden&r=email-cc92&l=061-86d&t=c>
(5/16) that the “payments to Cohen that have emerged in the past week come
primarily from a single document, a ‘suspicious-activity report’ filed by
First Republic Bank,” where Cohen’s Essential Consultants LLC maintained an
account. There were also “two previous suspicious-activity reports” that
“according to the official who leaked the report...were absent from the
database maintained by the Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes
Enforcement Network.” The official said, “I have never seen something
pulled off the system. ... When something’s not there that should be, I
immediately became concerned.”

*Cohen Sought At Least $1 Million From Qatar. *The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051701biden&r=email-cc92&l=062-a39&t=c>
(5/16, DeYoung, Dawsey, Helderman) reports that Cohen “solicited a payment
of at least $1 million from the government of Qatar” in late 2016 “in
exchange for access to and advice about the then-incoming administration,
according to several people with knowledge of the episode.” Qatar declined.

*FBI Appears To Be Probing Cohen’s Deal With KAI. *The Washington
Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051701biden&r=email-cc92&l=063-f0f&t=c>
(5/16, Boburg, Davis) reports that the FBI appears to be “examining Cohen’s
contract with Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) – one of several companies
with substantial business before the US government that hired Cohen.” A man
who served as a translator in their discussions told the Post “that he
spoke with the FBI about the arrangement ‘a few weeks ago.’”

*Novartis General Counsel Quits Over Cohen Payments. *The New York
Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051701biden&r=email-cc92&l=064-ab3&t=c>
(5/16, Rao, Thomas) reports, “Novartis’s top lawyer is to retire from the
company over payments made by the pharmaceutical giant” to Cohen. The
company said that general counsel Felix Ehrat “was stepping down ‘in the
context of discussions surrounding Novartis’s former agreement with
Essential Consultants, owned by Michael Cohen.’”

*Trump Personally Earned More Than $40 Million From Washington
Hotel In 2017. *USA Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051701biden&r=email-cc92&l=065-890&t=c>
(5/16, Reilly, Penzenstadler) reports that President Trump’s income from
the Trump International Hotel in Washington “topped $40 million last year,
according to a copy of his annual financial disclosure report released on
Wednesday.” The hotel, “located less than one mile from the White House,
has emerged a favorite of the Washington power players, including lobbyists
and interests groups.” The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051701biden&r=email-cc92&l=066-7a1&t=c>
(5/16, Bump) reports that Trump has also earned $59 million in three years
running three attractions for the New York city government, including
Wollman Rink in Central Park.
Senate Panel Approves Haspel Nomination In 10-5 Vote.

Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051701biden&r=email-cc92&l=067-b9b&t=c>
(5/16) reports that in a 10-5 vote Wednesday, the Senate Intelligence
Committee approved the nomination of CIA Director-designate Gina Haspel.
The committee’s vote “was expected after two of its seven Democrats, Vice
Chairman Mark Warner and Joe Manchin, said they would join the panel’s
eight Republicans in backing Haspel.” Reuters says Haspel “is expected to
be confirmed by the full Senate as soon as next week.” The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051701biden&r=email-cc92&l=068-26a&t=c>
(5/16, Riechmann) says Senate GOP leaders “want to hold that vote before
the end of the week, but she is opposed by Republican Sen. Rand Paul of
Kentucky and some Democrats who could object.”

President Trump tweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051701biden&r=email-cc92&l=069-4fd&t=c>
Wednesday afternoon, “Gina Haspel is one step closer to leading our brave
men and women at the CIA. She is exceptionally qualified and the Senate
should confirm her immediately. We need her to keep our great country safe!
#ConfirmGina.”

*Flake Says He Will Vote Against Haspel. *CNN
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051701biden&r=email-cc92&l=06a-a90&t=c>
(5/16, Diaz) reports on its website that Sen. Jeff Flake on Wednesday
became the third Republican to say he will vote against Haspel’s
nomination. Flake said in a statement, “While I thank Ms. Haspel for her
long and dedicated service to the CIA, as a country we need to turn the
page on the unfortunate chapter in the agency’s history having to do with
torture. ... Congress needs to be able to provide fully informed oversight.
My questions about Ms. Haspel’s role in the destruction of videotapes
relevant to discussions occurring in Congress regarding the program have
not been adequately answered.”
Trump Calls Some Undocumented Immigrants “Animals.”

The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051701biden&r=email-cc92&l=06b-55e&t=c>
(5/16) reports that during a meeting Wednesday with “local California
leaders who oppose the state’s refusal to cooperate with federal
immigration authorities,” Trump “hammer[ed] California for its sanctuary
policies.” Trump told the officials they had “bravely resisted California’s
deadly and unconstitutional sanctuary state laws,” and added that
“California’s law provides safe harbor to some of the most vicious and
violent offenders on earth.” USA Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051701biden&r=email-cc92&l=06c-636&t=c>
(5/16, Korte, Gomez) says that during the “freewheeling” meeting, Trump
“used extraordinarily harsh rhetoric to renew his call for stronger
immigration laws...calling undocumented immigrants ‘animals’ and venting
frustration at Mexican officials who he said ‘do nothing’ to help the
United States.” Trump said, “We have people coming into the country or
trying to come in, we’re stopping a lot of them, but we’re taking people
out of the country. You wouldn’t believe how bad these people are. ...
These aren’t people. These are animals.”

The Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051701biden&r=email-cc92&l=06d-4b7&t=c>
(5/16, Nicholas) reports that Trump told the group, “Mexico does nothing
for us. They do nothing for us. ... Mexico talks but they do nothing for
us, especially at the border. They certainly don’t help us much on trade,
but especially at the border they do nothing for us.” The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051701biden&r=email-cc92&l=06e-ad2&t=c>
(5/16, Davis) describes Trump’s comments as “incendiary,” adding that he
“used the session to vent his anger at the nation’s immigration laws,
calling them ‘the dumbest laws on immigration in the world.’” Under the
headline, “Trump Stokes California’s Sanctuary Revolt,” the Washington Free
Beacon
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051701biden&r=email-cc92&l=06f-884&t=c>
(5/16, Crabtree) says Trump “pledg[ed] to redouble his administration’s
efforts to deport illegal immigrants who commit crimes.”

The Los Angeles Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051701biden&r=email-cc92&l=070-e08&t=c>
(5/16, Decker) reports that speakers at Wednesday’s meeting repeatedly
“compared the sanctuary law to the relationship of different federal and
local agencies before the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks – equating the potential
threat of illegal immigration to the most damaging terrorist strike on U.S.
soil.” The Sacramento (CA) Bee
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051701biden&r=email-cc92&l=071-453&t=c>
(5/16, Ordoñez) reports that Fresno Sheriff “told the president that
California’s sanctuary laws have put sheriffs like herself in ‘an untenable
position,’ caught between conflicting state and federal laws.” Mims called
“her department’s inability to work with federal agents” a “disgrace.”

*Brown: Trump “Lying” About California Law. *The Los Angeles Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051701biden&r=email-cc92&l=072-bd3&t=c>
(5/16, Decker) also reports that “Trump and his guests...exaggerated the
breadth” of the sanctuary measure signed by California Gov. Jerry Brown.
After the event, Brown tweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051701biden&r=email-cc92&l=073-7cf&t=c>,
“@realDonaldTrump is lying on immigration, lying about crime and lying
about the laws of CA. Flying in a dozen Republican politicians to flatter
him and praise his reckless policies changes nothing. We, the citizens of
the fifth largest economy in the world, are not impressed.”

*Trump Suggests DOJ Investigate Oakland Mayor Schaaf. *The Washington
Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051701biden&r=email-cc92&l=074-c7d&t=c>
(5/16, Nakamura, Johnson) reports that Trump also “suggested the Justice
Department investigate” Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf “for her role in tipping
off the community about an impending federal enforcement raid in February.”
Directing his comments to Attorney General Sessions, who was at the
meeting, Trump said, “You talk about obstruction of justice – I would
recommend that you look into obstruction of justice for the mayor of
Oakland, California, Jeff. ... She advises thousand people ... ‘Get out of
here, the law enforcement’s coming.’ And you worked on that long and hard
and you got there and there were very few people there. ... Perhaps the
Department of Justice can look into that, with respect to the mayor,
because it’s a big deal out there, and a lot of people are very angry about
what happened.” Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051701biden&r=email-cc92&l=075-0c2&t=c>
(5/16, Forgey, Marinucci) says that while Trump “has previously accused
Schaaf of obstructing justice by interfering with the raid,” his comments
yesterday “marked the first time he directly implored the nation’s top law
enforcement official to contemplate legal action against the mayor.”

*Trump Argues For Merit-Based Immigration To Fill Jobs. *Breitbart
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051701biden&r=email-cc92&l=076-587&t=c>
(5/16) reports that while Trump appeared “frustrated with the ongoing
struggle to enforce the southern border,” he “asserted that employers
needed high skilled immigrants to fill jobs in the growing economy.” Trump
said, “Part of the problem that we have is that our economy is so strong.
... People are pouring up to get into our economy, they want a piece of our
economy. That makes the job even tougher.”

*NYTimes: Trump Claim That Illegal Border Crossings Decreased 40%
Is False. *The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051701biden&r=email-cc92&l=077-eee&t=c>
(5/16, Qiu) reports that Trump said during the meeting, “We’re down 40%
from those other standards – so that’s really good – meaning 40%
crossings.” However, according to the Times, the latest CBP data “shows
that illegal border crossings – which are usually measured as apprehensions
on the southern border – actually increased during the last few months.”
The Times adds that in the past, when Trump “has made various claims about
a decline in illegal border crossings in the past, he has tended to
selectively choose points of time that showed the most drastic drops. His
claim on Wednesday about a 40 percent decline was no different.” While
border crossings “did decline by 26 percent from the 2016 fiscal year to
the 2017 fiscal year, and by 43 percent from the 2016 calendar year to the
2017 calendar year,” the figures “do not represent the current state of
border crossings.”

*Ryan Urges Members Not To Sign Discharge Petition. *CNN
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051701biden&r=email-cc92&l=078-53a&t=c>
(5/16, Kopan) reports on its website that in a “closed-door meeting”
Wednesday, House Speaker Ryan “sought to discourage fellow Republicans from
signing a measure that would force an immigration vote.” CNN says Ryan
“faces an uprising from moderate GOP members who say time is running out
for him to come up with a solution on immigration, adding they are tired of
waiting for action.” Rep. Bill Flores (R) “paraphrased the Speaker as
telling Republicans to ‘quit messing around with the discharge petition’
and that it’s ‘not a path to success.’” Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051701biden&r=email-cc92&l=079-742&t=c>
(5/16) says Ryan “warned a small group of moderates that it would be a ‘big
mistake’ if they continued pushing” the discharge petition. Ryan “said he
was working with the White House on a singular measure that would win
President Donald Trump’s support.” The Hill
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051701biden&r=email-cc92&l=07a-37b&t=c>
(5/16, Zanona) reports that after the meeting today, Ryan “reiterated his
opposition to the discharge petition,” saying, “We don’t want to advance
something that won’t become law and just get vetoed even if it made it to
the President’s desk. We want to advance something that has a chance of
going into law that the President supports. That’s why we met with the
President.”

Nevertheless, the Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051701biden&r=email-cc92&l=07b-336&t=c>
(5/16, Debonis) reports that Reps. John Katko (R) and David Trott (R)
“became the 19th and 20th Republicans to sign” the discharge petition.
The Washington
Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051701biden&r=email-cc92&l=07c-7ac&t=c>
(5/16, Dinan) says the addition of Katko and Trott means “the pro-Dreamer
GOP rebellion is now just five votes shy of success.” If the effort gets 25
names, “and all of the chamber’s Democrats also sign, it will force the
Dreamer debate onto the floor of the House, over the objections of GOP
leaders.”

*McCarthy: DACA Vote Could Cost Republicans House Majority. *
Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051701biden&r=email-cc92&l=07d-45e&t=c>
(5/16, Bade, Bresnahan) reports that House Majority Leader McCarthy “warned
centrist Republicans that their effort to force a vote to protect Dreamers
could cost the party its House majority.” According to Politico, McCarthy
“cautioned that ‘we cannot disrupt ourselves,’ saying in no uncertain terms
that a ‘discharg